Heather Mae/Sarah Clanton Duo

Heather Mae

It is rare to find an artist who startles your senses on many levels, engaging the part of your brain that makes you shake your hips, but also raise your fist in solidarity.

Heather Mae does just that.

An imaginative lyricist with a powerhouse voice, Heather Mae is forging new ground with her newest album. Entitled “I AM ENOUGH”, the collection was dubbed a KickStarter Staff Pick within it’s first week, smashing through its $15,000 fundraising goal and on it’s official release date - June 10th, 2016 - peaked at #58 on the iTunes Pop Charts. All of this without the support of a label.

With producer Mark Williams (Sucker Punch Recording Co.) at the wheel, the collection of five songs is a bold breakout from her former years as a folk singer-songwriter strumming a ukulele. Mae breaks ground in “I AM ENOUGH” not only for her interesting indie-pop sound, but also for her musical take on touchy subjects ranging from LGBTQ discrimination, gender stereotypes, body image, and mental health issues. This is what sets Mae apart—she seeks to write music for those that need an anthem and doesn’t shy away from tackling topics not often heard in pop music.

The title track to her new album, ‘I Am Enough’ is an ode to body positivity and breaking away from self-imposed affliction to fit into what society defines as beautiful.

“I see this record as a platform for change. Pop music with a mission.” says Heather. “I am inspired by artists who are able to combine both.”

‘Wanderer’ and ‘No Poor Soul’ are reflections of Mae’s own experience of publicly coming out and the relief associated with finding love that accepts you just as you are—externally and internally. ‘Stand Up’ wraps up the entire record with its challenge to listeners to fight against intolerances that so many of us face, such as racism, sexism and other prejudices.

Mae also includes references to the Black Lives Matter movement and the June 2015 SCOTUS ruling on gay marriage which destroyed DOMA.

After graduating in 2008 from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York, directly afterwards she embarked on her first project entitled "One Year of Songs.” The collection was an ambitious project which involved writing and recording one song every day for a year. The record received local and national attention (Washington Post dubbed her songs "charming") as she toured the country in support of the project.

As her star began to rise, Mae was diagnosed with nodules on her vocal chords. With her future suddenly in limbo, she was forced to re-evaluate her career and life.

“I was told I would never sing again and I went through an introspective time. It was having to sit in silence that changed me. I hadn’t ever used my voice for good and that became my mantra as I recovered,” Mae says.

Heather realized she had never really written about the issues that meant the most to her.

“I knew that I had been too afraid to put myself out there and be exposed. It’s one thing to write about love, it’s another thing to write about loving your partner - who is a woman. To sing about what life is like as a plus size woman, the self acceptance and right to feel great about myself, and social issues that meant the most to me. Before I went through this health challenge, and almost lost it all, fear held me back. It wasn’t worth the risk but I got the message that it can be taken away in a second, and I knew it was time to step up.”

She vowed that her new music would not only be different, but sincere and significant. In spite of some of her darkest days, Mae relearned how to sing. She took a step away from her previous folk-heavy style and her new sound is a unique fusion of indie-pop Tegan and Sara meets dynamic vocalist Etta James.

“When people listen to my new music, my mission is that they feel they’re not alone and that they’re moved to rediscover the best versions of themselves,” Mae says. “Two years ago, I was told that the definition of who I was no longer existed. The thing that kept me going was believing that I wasn’t alone in my brokenness. We all fail at times and it is so much easier if we have more hands to help us up, rather than to point out our flaws. That is what this record is. A humble hand to help you get off your a**.”

Mae was selected as a finalist in the 2016 Kerrville New Folk Competition, International Songwriting Contest, Falcon Ridge Songwriter Showcase, and as a Folk Alliance International Official Showcase performer. Mae has been lucky enough to perform, work, open for, and study one-on-one with diverse talents such as Tom Paxton, Paul Pfau (The Voice S8), Rebecca Loebe (The Voice S1), Amy Speace, Paul Reisler, and Ron Browning (Carrie Underwood, Wynonna Judd), and Beth Nielsen Chapman (“This Kiss”).

Sarah Clanton

This singer-cellist-songwriter strums, bows, picks, and taps through stories of hope and heart, pulling you into the moment by the collar and not letting go. Classically trained but now playing out of the “box,” Clanton’s vocals transcend from moonlit-night to house-on-fire, with a tone that blends smoke with sunlight, landing somewhere between Nina Simone and Norah Jones.

After graduating Furman University in 2007 with a degree in Music and Communication Studies, Clanton stayed in Greenville, South Carolina and continued playing classically in orchestras, while touring with bands as a hired gun. She worked random jobs and taught cello lessons, all-the-while exploring and finding her voice in nontraditional ways of playing and singing with her cello. When she was not on the road touring solo or appearing with artists like Edwin McCain, The David Mayfield Parade, Ben Sollee, Mindy Smith, and Richard Leigh, she was organizing a 19 week, Saturday solar powered festival called Music in the Woods. Clanton's diligence caught the attention of the Cirque Du Soleil, who invited her to audition for a lead role (right before she had decided to make the move to Nashville in 2014).

Sarah's purple hair-tossing, sultry-yet-electric performances - an exercise in musical abandon - became audience favorites. In 2012 Clanton facilitated a successful Kickstarter campaign to record her first full-length recording. Her first self produced project upon arriving to Nashville, a 2015 self-titled EP, included “Tequila”, one of her favorites. It is an original, co-written by Clanton, Tom Bettencourt, and Richard Leigh that made the Nashville Songwriters Association International Top 40 in January 2016.

After just two years in Nashville, Clanton signed a management deal with Torque Entertainment and a publishing deal with Writer’s Den Music Group. In spring of 2017, Sarah was selected as an Official Showcase Artist at the South Eastern Regional Folk Alliance in Montreat, North Carolina. This honor followed the 2017 releases “Middle Tree Studio Live,” a collection of originals, and a summer of video collaboration covers like “The Less I Know The Better” and “Chained to the Rhythm” with Nataly Dawn and “One Step Closer” with Heather Mae. In December, No Depression and Elmore Magazine premiered her latest single “Silver Lining”, a song co-written with Mary Bragg, championing construction conversation.

Looking forward to 2018, it looks like another year of adventure for Sarah Clanton! She plans to finish crafting and recording a new incarnation of her honey-and-thunder sound for a 2018 full-length release.